Murray, who will face Dutch wild card Robin Haase in round one of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, reached a career-high ranking of eight last June but his season was disrupted by injury.

"Roger Federer won here (Marseille) at 20 too so I'm on the right track," said Murray

I would rather see him in the final of the Australian Open in Melbourne than in the final of Marseille

Becker on Murray

"It's important to win these tournaments - it's what gives you confidence to go and play well in the Grand Slams.

"For me, winning Grand Slams is more important than being number one. Players are judged on how many they win - that's how good their career is.

"But if you are winning Grand Slams obviously you are pretty close to number one anyway.

"For me, I've always set goals for each year. First the top 100, then the top 20, then the top 10. Now it is a Grand Slam.

"If I can do that in the next couple of years then I'll be going for number one."

Murray, though, concedes he is one of a number of youngsters looking to take Federer's crown when the world number one Swiss relinquishes his stranglehold on the game.

"When Federer in the next four or five years starts to taper down, there are a lot of guys like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, myself, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet who will be going for number one.

"There's a lot of guys who have a good chance of going for it."

Meanwhile, Boris Becker has questioned Murray's choice of tournaments after the British number one pulled out of Great Britain's Davis Cup tie with Argentina.

Becker told BBC Sport: "I'd rather see him play Davis Cup in Argentina.

"I understand the participation in smaller tournaments but you just have to focus on the big ones."

Murray pulled out of the World Group tie in Buenos Aires on the grounds he did not want to risk injury by switching from hard courts to clay and back again, a decision that led to criticism from his older brother Jamie.

While admitting he played certain smaller events when on the ATP tour, Becker argued Murray had some key decisions to take if he is to make the most of his career.

"He has certainly got the talent to be in the top five in the world but I would rather see him in the final of the Australian Open in Melbourne than in the final of Marseille," added Becker.

"It's a question of what's important to you."

But speaking after his win in Marseille, Murray insisted: "I think I made the right decision.